2012 PRUDENTIAL U.S. FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS NOVICE - PAIRS
LIU, PERINI GIVE COACHES GIFT OF GOLD
by TROY SCHWINDT T
he lives of Jenni Meno and Todd Sand certainly have changed since they won their third U.S. pairs title in 1996 at HP Pavil- ion in San Jose, Calif.
Tey now coach alongside their former coach John Nicks in Aliso
Viejo, Calif., and they have two sons, Jack, 7, and Matthew, 5. “Now we’re in a completely different world,” Meno said. But at the 2012 U.S. Championships, Meno and Sand were able
to relive some of the magic from that classic 1996 event when their novice pairs team of Chelsea Liu and Devin Perini captured the gold medal. “I told them that they were our first national champions in the last
place we won nationals,” Meno said. “So that’s pretty special, right?” Liu, 12, wasn't around, and Perini, 18, wasn't old enough to have
watched Meno and Sand compete, but they are well aware of their coaches’ reputation as one of the sport’s most successful teams. Tey also competed in two Olympics and won bronze and silver medals at the World Championships. Liu, of the Broadmoor SC, and Perini, of the Los Angeles FSC, took another big step toward realizing their own skating dreams by win- ning the short program and free skate en route to 122.63 points and the title. Last year in Greensboro, N.C., the duo made their national debut by placing second in the novice class with 113.90 points. Caitlin Fields, representing the Coyotes SC of Arizona, and Jason
Pacini, of the Fort Collins FSC, finished second with 118.89 points. Te Skating Club of Boston’s Alexandria Shaughnessy and James Mor- gan captured the bronze medal with 113.87 points. Liu and Perini led Fields and Pacini by just .70 points after the
short program, but increased their advantage with a fun and playful program to a Charlie Chaplin medley. Te program did hit a sudden bump in the road when Liu fell hard on their opening double Lutz combination, but she immediately jumped up and they finished the rest of the program in a strong fashion. “I just tried to put the fall behind me,” Liu said. “I think the thing that was really great is that she showed she’s a tough little competitor,” Meno said. “After that [fall] you would have never known she made a mistake.” “I thought he took real good care of her,” Sand added. “He knew she had a little issue.”
Caitlin Fields/Jason Pacini Highlights from their free skate included
two level four lifts, a level four inside death spiral, a throw double loop and a pair of level four spins. Keeping the team in novice for one more
season proved to be the right call, Sand said. “Staying back, of course, they wanted to
win,” he said. “But I think the most important thing was for them to continue improving and developing. And I think the improvement they showed tonight, whether they ended up winning or not, was what we wanted to show the judging community and the skating community. We feel they have a lot more potential than anyone has ever seen yet.” Liu and Perini will jump up to juniors next season, although they won’t be eligible to com- pete internationally until 2013. Fields and Pacini, fourth at the novice level
last year, performed a strong program to music from Cutthroat Island. Tey, like the champions, experienced a fall early on when Fields tumbled on the team’s throw triple loop. Tat miscue, however, didn’t faze them. “Tey were the only team that tried a throw triple tonight and it
was there, just a little slip on it,” coach Doug Ladret said. “Tey recov- ered right away with side-by-side double Axels that were really well in unison and covered the ice.” Pacini, 16, and Fields, 21, look forward to competing as juniors next season, with more opportunities to try “bigger and better tricks.” Shaughnessy, 19, and Morgan, 20, fifth at novice last year, figured they would jump up to juniors before the season started. But an injury to Morgan and their relative inexperience together prompted coach Bobby Martin to leave them in novice for one more season. “Tey were in the international selection pool this
year, we were getting ready to move up to junior, and Jimmy had some shoulder problems,” Martin said. “We tried to rehab but ended up doing shoulder surgery. We really weren’t sure what they were going to be like at this point and time. Tey had a short season; he has a bi- onic arm pretty much. We are always looking at the long term and we just want to make sure they are strong and healthy, and I think they are in a fantastic place to keep going forward now.” Te team from the Skating Club of Boston per-
formed to Evita for their free skate and were rewarded for their level four spins. Tey did stumble on the side-by- side double Axels. Christina Zaitsev and Ernie Utah Stevens, of the Indiana World Skating Academy FSC, placed fourth.
Chelsea Liu/Devin Perini SKATING 43
Alexandria Shaughnessy/ James Morgan
PHOTOS BY JAY ADEFF
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76